Exakta 6×6 (horizontal)

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See also the 1953 vertical Exakta 66 and the 1986 West German Exakta 66.

The first Exakta 6×6cm model was released in 1939 by Ihagee in Germany. It makes twelve square-format pictures on a 120 film. The camera features interchangeable lenses, a waist-level viewfinder and a peculiar, very large film-advance lever built onto the base. There is a red window, used to advance a new film to frame 1. The cloth focal-plane shutter has a very wide speed range for the period — 12 seconds to 1/1000th plus B, set on two dials, and has the early electronic Vacublitz flash terminals (one source reports 1/50 as the synch speed[1]).

Development

Interest in the 6×6 film format increased through the 1930s from both consumers and professionals. Benefits of the format included the same camera orientation for portrait and landscape photos, about 38% more picture area compared to the 645 format and a useful negative size for making contact prints.[2] At first the format was mostly used in folders such as the Super Ikonta 530/16 and TLR cameras from Rolleiflex, Zeiss Ikon and Voigtländer. However notably Ihagee had already released a 6×6 roll-film version of the Paff-Reflex camera in the 1922. Then the first modern 6×6 SLR camera, the Eichapfel Noviflex came to market in 1934, followed by the more successful Reflex-Korelle in 1935. In this context, and with their recent experiences with the Kine-Exakta 35mm SLR (released in 1936) management at Ihagee begun their own 6×6 SLR project in 1937.

Willy Teubner was made leader for development from the middle of 1937, and a workshop for prototypes was set up in 1938[3]. Second-year apprentices produced the detail drawings, and one of them, Richard Hummel, has emphasised that parts of the camera had very complex curves and that the apprentices faced many demands, but were well supported by Teubner[4]. It should be noted that a very early prototype "Ihagee Reflex" 6×6 was seen at auction in 2014, with a Meyer-Görlitz Ihagee-Anastigmat Trioplan 8cm f6.8 lens. Both the "Ihagee Reflex" construction and lens seem to be based on the Ihagee Paff-Reflex, with some elements possibly inspired by the Reflex-Korelle, and very few direct similarities to the production Exakta 6×6.[5] Development of new lenses and production of lens prototypes for the camera was carried out at Carl Zeiss Jena at the same time, including a new 1937-designed 6.5cm f6.3 Tessar, 10cm f2 Biotar and 18cm f4 Sonnar (never entered series production), and the 1938-designed 13.5cm f4 Triotar lens. The 8cm f2.8 and f3.5 Tessar lenses used the same design as for the Super Ikonta, Reflex-Korelle and Ikoflex III cameras. Other lenses, such as the Tele-Tessar 18cm and 25cm f6.3 were older designs[6].

The camera was first shown at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1939, concurrently with the similar but simpler Beier-Flex II. A version of the camera with the 100mm f2 Biotar or 100mm f1.9 Primoplan was also shown, called the Night-Exakta 6x6.[7].

Production and sales

Production was delayed due to problems with the film transport, and did not begin before August 1939. Prices for the camera in 1939 varied depending on the included lens. From 225 RM for the camera with Ihagee-Exaktar 8,5cm f3.5 to 390 RM with the Makro-Plasmat 10,5cm f2.7[8]. The Night-Exakta was significantly more expensive, at 460 RM including the Primoplan 10cm f1.9 or 600 RM including the Biotar 10cm f2. Already in November 1939 production stopped with only about 1500 cameras produced[9] (known serials run from 553504 to 554724[10], indicating at least 1220 produced). According to Hummel, the reason for the end of production was both the change to war time economy in Germany, but also the faulty film transport, which could only have been remedied by a design revision.[11] However, production may have ended shortly thereafter in any event, as the similar VP Exakta also stopped production in 1940, partly due to the war. Production of lenses continued for a time, with as many as 300 Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 8cm lenses being produced from 17-19 December 1940[12], and a batch of 100 Carl Zeiss Jena 6.5cm f6.5 lenses starting production as late as March 1941[13]. A dealer advertisement at the end of 1942 states that the Exakta 6x6 camera may be pre-ordered for delivery "after the war", and that lenses were still available for purchase, to be ready for the re-start of camera production.[14] However, by February 1945 the Ihagee works had been bombed[15], and production did not re-start immediately after the war as advertised.

Post-war development

After the war, Willy Teubner, now as Technical Director, reintroduced the pre-war Exakta 66 at the 1951 Leipzig Spring Fair (and later at the 1952 Photokina[16]). Certain functions were updated, including an interchangeable finder, but production started based on pre-war parts[17]. The update also seems to have included a new Tessar 80mm f2.8 lens design from 1950[18]. Only about 300 cameras were produced post-war[19], however few traces of these remain. It seems the tooling for new lenses in the pre-war Exakta 6×6 lens mount was used to a much larger degree, however, as the post-war Tessar 80mm f2.8 lens in pre-war 6x6 mount was made in several thousand copies[20]. Later Tessar 80mm f2.8 lenses for the vertical Exakta 6x6 and Exakta 36x24mm actually contain the pre-war mount, adapted to fit. The adapter for 80mm f2.8 Tessar lenses to the Exakta 36x24mm mount can be used to mount any pre-war 6x6 lens to Exakta 36x24mm cameras, and furthermore to other adapters, e.g. to digital cameras.

In the end the pre-war Exakta 6x6 was replaced by a complete redesigned vertical Exakta 66 in 1953 and later, with the Reflex-Korelle and Meister-Korelle, inspired the Praktisix and Pentacon Six models. Through these, the camera's influence can be traced as far as the Pentax 67 discontinued in 2011.

Lenses

Lenses from several makers were advertised, however it is unclear if and how many of the lenses from third parties were produced. Meyer and especially Berthiot lenses are very rare. At least one example of the 10cm f2 Biotar has been noted with a red T-mark, signifying the proprietary Zeiss T-coating. Furthermore it seems coating was applied to at least some 8cm f2.8 Zeiss Tessar lenses, without the T-marking. Possibly due to lens orders with Zeiss exceeding the amount of produced cameras, it is not uncommon to find lenses in 6x6 Exakta mount with adapters to other contemporary 35mm cameras, including Leica mount, M42 mount, Contax RF mount[21] and Exakta 35mm mount.

Lens Lens construction Filter diameter Price Number produced Weight
Berthiot Olor 6.5cm f5.7
Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 6.5cm f6.3 4 elements 150 RM 302
Berthiot Flor 7.5cm f3.5
Meyer Makro-Plasmat 7.5cm f2.9
Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 8cm f2.8 4 elements 105 RM
Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 8cm f3.5 4 elements 85 RM >502
Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 8cm f3.5 4 elements 65 RM >201
Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 8cm f2.8 85 RM 612
Ihagee-Exaktar 8.5cm f3.5 (produced by Schneider-Kreuznach) 4 elements
Meyer Primotar 8.5cm f3.5
Meyer Primotar 8,5cm f3.5 100
Meyer Primotar 8.5cm f2.8 10
Meyer Megon 8.5cm f2
Berthiot Flor 9cm f2.8
Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 10cm f2 6 elements 425 RM 413
Meyer Primoplan 10cm f1.9 285 RM >54
Meyer Makro-Plasmat 10.5cm f2.7 6 elements 206 RM
Carl Zeiss Jena Triotar 13.5cm f4 3 elements 165 RM 202
Meyer Primotar 13.5cm f3.5
Berthiot Tele 15cm f5.5
Meyer Primotar 18cm f3.5 >3
Meyer Tele-Megor 18cm f5.5 4 elements 144 RM 100
Carl Zeiss Jena Tele-Tessar 18cm f6.3 4 elements 255 RM 250
Schneider Kreuznach Tele-Xenar 24cm f4.5 5 elements 255 RM >100
Carl Zeiss Jena Tele-Tessar 25cm f6,3 4 elements 280 RM
Meyer Tele-Megor 250mm f5.5 100
Schneider-Kreuznach Tele-Xenar 30cm f5,5 4 elements 220 RM
Meyer Tele-Megor 30cm f5.5 (advertised)
Schneider Kreuznach Tele-Xenar 36cm f5,5 4 elements 260 RM

Notes

  1. Wolf H. Döring, "Das Exakta 6×6-Buch" (1941) p. 58
  2. Exakta Times No. 37 December 1999 p. 24
  3. Peter Longden, Ihagee - the Men and the Cameras p. 86, 2011
  4. Exakta Times Number 37 December 1999 p. 24
  5. https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/29643313_prototype-ihagee-reflex-c-1936
  6. Hartmut Thiele, Fabrikationsbuch Photooptik II Carl Zeiss Jena, 2015, p. 313-314
  7. Peter Longden, Ihagee - the Men and the Cameras p. 86, 2011
  8. Exakta - nun auch im Grossformat 6x6
  9. Richard Hummel, as translated in Exakta Times No. 37 December 1999 p. 24-25
  10. http://www.peterlanczak.de/EXREF.pdf
  11. Hummel in Photo Deal I/96 p. 26
  12. Hartmut Thiele, Grosses Fabrikationsbuch Schneider-Kreuznach Band I p. 259
  13. Hartmut Thiele, Fabrikationsbuch Photooptik II Carl Zeiss Jena, 2015, p. 60
  14. Hamburger Anzeiger 31 December 1942 p. 8
  15. Peter Longden, Ihagee - the Men and the Cameras p. 90, 2011
  16. Photographische Korrespondenz: Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche undangewandte Photographie und die gesamte Reproduktionstechnik, Volume 90-91 (1954) p. 141
  17. Peter Longden, Ihagee - the Men and the Cameras p. 107-108, 2011
  18. Hartmut Thiele, Fabrikationsbuch Photooptik II Carl Zeiss Jena, 2015, p. 237
  19. Ibid.
  20. Ibid.
  21. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/unusual-lens-contax-rangefinder-76216803

Further reading

  • Wolf. H. Döring, Das Exakta 6x6 Buch (1941)

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